National statistics

Summary of latest statistics

Published 23 February 2023

‘Immigration system statistics, year ending December 2022’ contents page.

This is not the latest release. View latest release.

Recent changes in visa numbers to Home Office data

There are a range of events / developments that are likely to have impacted visa numbers recently (such as coronavirus (COVID-19) and the end of free movement with the EU, alongside policy changes and the introduction of new Protection visas). This means that the Home Office visa statistics at present, include a larger degree of uncertainty around the overall trends. For further discussion and detail see ‘Recent changes to visa numbers in Home Office data’.

1. How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?

There were an estimated 104.9 million passenger arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) in 2022 (including returning UK residents). The latest number is around two thirds of the total number of arrivals in 2019 (146.3 million), the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak. This was more than 3 times (+248%) as many as in 2021 (30.1 million), when travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were still in place.

There were 2,836,490 visas granted in 2022, 11% fewer (-335,239) than 2019, primarily due to 1.0 million fewer grants of Visitor visas, although the total number of grants continues to increase in the aftermath of the global pandemic. Of the visas granted in the latest 12 months, 49% were to visit, 22% were under the study routes, 15% were under the work routes, 3% were for family reasons, and 11% for other reasons (including grants of leave on the Ukraine Schemes and British National (Overseas)(BN(O) route). There have been a total of 160,700 applications for the (BN(O) route in the almost 2 years since its introduction on 31 January 2021 up to the end of December 2022.

Between October and December 2022, there were 10,100 applications for the BN(O) route, with 8,462 out of country applications, and 1,700 in country applications. Of the total, 6,400 applications relate to main applicants and 3,700 relate to dependants. There have been a total of 129,415 grants of out of country BN(O) visas made between 31 January 2021 and 31 December 2022. 105,200 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. And a total of 24,293 grants of in country BN(O) visas made between 31 January 2021 and 31 December 2022.

For further details see ʻHow many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?’.

2. Statistics on Ukrainians in the UK

During 2022, a total of 248,107 applications were received by Ukrainian Nationals across both Ukraine Visa Schemes, of which 208,389 had been granted. The Ukraine Family Scheme had 77,460 applications from Ukrainian Nationals in 2022. Of these, 61,786 applications had been granted. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme had 171,383 applications and 146,603 grants. There were also 22,661 extensions granted, 7,502 under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 15,159 under the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

For further details see ʻStatistics on Ukrainians in the UK’.

3. Why do people come to the UK?

3.1 Work

There were 267,670 grants to main applicants on work visas, almost twice as many (+95%) than in 2019 due to increases in both long-term sponsored work visas and ‘Temporary Worker’ visas.

Grants for ‘Skilled Worker’ and ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas represented over half (54%) of all work visas granted to main applicants in 2022. Indian nationals were the highest nationality granted on both these routes.

Visas granted to ‘Seasonal Workers’ have risen to 34,532, reflecting the increase in this route’s quota from 2,500 in 2019 to 40,000 in 2022. Seasonal Workers represented almost half (49%) of all ‘Temporary Worker’ visas to main applicants. The proportion of all work-related visas granted to dependants increased from 29% in 2019 to 37% in 2022.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To work’.

3.2 Study

In 2022, there were 485,758 sponsored study visas issued to main applicants, 81% more than in 2019. However, annual figures are unable to account for changes in travel patterns following the pandemic, which may have led to more students applying for visas in the 2022, and so comparisons should be treated with caution at this point.

There were 139,539 grants to Indian nationals, an increase of 105,278 (+307%) compared to 2019 (34,261). Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted sponsored study visas in 2022, with 102,842 visas granted.

The vast majority of Certificate of Acceptance (CAS) used (91%) were for sponsored study at higher education (university) institutions, with the total divided between:

• higher education (91%)
• further education (4%)
• independent schools (3%)
• English language schools (2%)
• other (1%)

More than one fifth (22%) of all sponsored study related visas granted were to dependants of students (135,788), compared to 6% (16,047) in 2019.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? To study’.

3.3 Sponsorship licensing for work and study

At the end of 2022, there were over 57,000 organisations and institutions registered as licensed sponsors for work and study.

Home Office management information indicates that there were 7,537 decisions on applications for sponsor licences between September to December 2022, 63% more than in September to December 2021 (4,611). Of these, 5,882 licenses were granted, and 1,655 applications were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

This data also shows that there were 26,604 decisions made in 2022, compared to 15,882 in 2021. Of the 26,604 decisions, 19,944 licences were granted (72% higher than the year before) and 6,660 were not granted (including both applications withdrawn and those rejected).

3.4 Family

There were 48,107 family-related visas granted, 14% fewer than 2019; three quarters (76%) of family-related visas granted in 2022 were for partners, with the remainder being for children or other dependants.

There were 34,338 EU Settlement Scheme permits issued in 2022 to family members of people from the EU, European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland granted or eligible for settled or pre-settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme on the basis of residence in the UK before the end of the transition period. This is almost 6 times the number that was granted in 2019 (6,611). A total of 115,450 have been issued since the route opened in March 2019.

For further details see ʻWhy do people come to the UK? For family reasons’.

4. How many people do we grant protection to?

The UK offered protection (in the form of refugee status, humanitarian protection, alternative forms of leave and resettlement) to 23,841 people (including dependants) in 2022. This number was 15% higher than in 2019. Resettlement accounted for 5,792 (24%) of the people offered protection in 2022. The resettlement data here includes those who have been resettled under ‘Pathway 1’ and ‘Pathway 2’ of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, or relocated under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. Statistics on those resettled under ‘Pathway 3’ of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS) will be included in future editions of ‘Immigration system statistics’ once people have been resettled via this pathway.

There were 74,751 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in 2022, more than twice the number in 2019. This is higher than at the peak of the European Migration crisis (36,546 in year ending June 2016) and is the highest number of applications for almost 2 decades (since 2003).

In 2022, there were 18,699 initial decisions made on asylum applications. Although the number of decisions has increased by 29% in the last year, they remain 10% below numbers in 2019, before the pandemic. Just over three quarters (76%) of the initial decisions in 2022 were grants (of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave), which is a substantially higher grant rate than in pre-pandemic years and the highest yearly grant rate since 82% in 1990. Of the top 10 nationalities applying for asylum, half have a grant rate above 80% (Afghanistan 98%, Iran 80%, Syria 99%, Eritrea 98%, and Sudan 84%). This rise in grant rate is in part because of the low number of refusals (including third country refusals, which have been affected by the UK leaving the EU), although the overall grant rate can vary for a number of reasons.

For further details see ʻHow many people do we grant protection to?’.

5. How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently?

5.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

There were 571,815 decisions on applications to extend a person’s stay in the UK (including dependants) in 2022, 42% more than a year earlier and 86% more than in 2019.

5.2 Settlement

There were 133,451 decisions on applications for settlement in the UK in 2022, 24% more than in 2021, and 41% more than 2019. Of these,131,728 (99%) were granted.

5.3 EEA nationals and their family members

Documents issued under European law are no longer valid as evidence of a right of residence in the UK unless an application to the EU Settlement scheme (EUSS) was made on or before 30 June 2021. Applications received before 1 January 2021 are still being processed. More information is available on the relevant visas and immigration pages on GOV.UK.

Statistics of decisions on applications for residence documents pertaining to EEA citizens and qualifying non-EEA family members in the UK under EU law can be found for 2004 to 2022 in tables‘EEA_01 and EEA_02’ and for 2006 to 2022 in the form of ‘a detailed dataset’.

The Home Office publishes regular updates to EU Settlement Scheme numbers. The latest data show that 7 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme had been received up to 31 December 2022, of which 6.9 million had been concluded.

5.4 Citizenship

There were 190,741 applications for British citizenship in 2022, 9% more than in 2019, the last year prior to the pandemic.

There were 46,661 applications for citizenship by EU nationals, 6% fewer than in 2019. There were 144,080 applications for citizenship made by non-EU nationals, 15% more than in 2019.

EU nationals accounted for a quarter (24%) of all citizenship applications in 2022 compared to 12% in 2016. Increases in citizenship applications from EU nationals since 2016 are likely to reflect people seeking to confirm their status in the UK following the EU referendum and the UK’s exit from the EU.

There were 175,972 grants of British citizenship in 2022, 10% more than in 2019 prior to the pandemic. This increase comes after a period of relative stability since 2014.

For further details see ʻHow many people continue their stay in the UK?’.

6. How many people are detained or returned?

6.1 Immigration detention

20,446 people entered immigration detention in 2022, 16% fewer than in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

At the end of December 2022, there were 1,159 people held in immigration detention (including those detained under immigration powers in prison). This was 29% lower than immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of December 2019 (1,637).

19,447 people left detention in 2022, which was 21% fewer than in 2019. 48% had been detained for 7 days or less, compared with 39% pre-pandemic in 2019. 78% of those leaving detention in 2022 were bailed. Bail was mostly granted due to an asylum (or other) application being raised.

6.2 Returns

In the year ending September 2022, there were 3,531 enforced returns, 51% fewer than in 2019 pre-pandemic (7,198). The vast majority of enforced returns in the year ending September 2022 were of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) and around a half (49%) were EU nationals.

Enforced returns have been declining since the peak in 2012 with the most recent decrease related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of enforced returns were very low during quarters that coincided with ‘lockdowns’ starting in late March 2020 and early January 2021 (363 and 430). Numbers have increased to over 1,000 during July to September 2022; however, this is still below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (which saw around 1,800 returns per quarter).

In the year ending September 2022, there were 2,958 FNOs returned from the UK, of which 58% were EU nationals (1,706). FNO returns are a subset of total returns figures and in the year ending September 2022 were a large proportion of enforced returns and 24% of enforced and voluntary returns combined.

FNO returns increased slightly following the pandemic, driven by returns of non-EU nationals (mainly Albanians). However, FNO returns for the year ending September 2022 were 42% lower than in 2019 (2,958, down from 5,128). FNO returns decreased between 2016 and 2020. During this time returns of EU nationals were almost double that of non-EU nationals, but this gap closed considerably in 2021.

For further details see ʻHow many people are detained or returned?’.

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